Thank you for coming to the 8th Annual Vietnamese Interacting as One Conference. Because of you, the conference was a success!

This weekend was full of such great words of wisdom, great opportunities, and great memories. Go Big or Go Home. That was definitely the attitude for this year’s conference. Everyone went in with open minds and open hearts and learned more about themselves and our roots.

We hope you remember all the great things that happened that amazing weekend. The creative family mascots, Lac Su’s empowering words, “Forget about saving face, because if we keep quiet – we don’t get a voice,” and the incredible workshops. Beau Sia’s passionate and smooth poetry, the unforgettable celebration at the Orpheum, and most importantly, remembering that anything is possible.

Thanks again for coming! We cannot wait to see all your faces at the upcoming events!

Sincerely,

Dan Huynh and Chan Huynh

Survey

To help us make the VIA-1 bigger and better every year, please take a few minutes to fill out this conference survey. It will only take a few minutes of your time. At the end of the survey you will find the direct links to the two group pictures we took on Sunday morning. If you’ve already taken the survey, the picures can be found below. http://bit.ly/2010VIA1Survey

Group Pictures

To download the group pictures, please visit http://www.via1.org/media

Lisa’s CPP Message

VIA-1 Attendees, I really appreciate all the effort & donations that went into the crazy Polar Plunge, the now-famous white donation box and your individual school fundraisers. You really did a wonderful thing. Vietnamese American history began with our parents and elders making a bold and perilous escape amidst chaos in a crumbling country in the name of freedom. They arrived in the US, against all odds; no money, often no education, no language and no understanding of western culture. They worked long and hard hours, day in and day out for so many years, so that all of us could have the homes, cars, education and privileges that we have today. Their stories of raising some of the greatest young student leaders in the US, like yourselves, are the cornerstones of Vietnamese American history. Your contributions mean that the stories of our brave and valiant elders will be told, written down and preserved. Imagine how well they will sleep, knowing that there is generation of people behind them that will carry on their legacy. Talk about honor and respect! You, VSAs of the Midwest, have the utmost respect and gratitude from the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation, uNAVSA, the CPP Committee and many young and old Vietnamese Americans today who have untold stories. Again, thank you so much for all you’ve done for the “500 Oral Histories Project.”

We estimate about 400 people attended the show including MSU VSA and Purdue VSA (including UVSA’s very own Jackie and Chan!) Many family and friends drove for hours in order to support us in this show. Thanks to all the supporters, we raised $1000 through ticket sales to go the VietHope charity. It was really exciting because this year we did something new, which is to go ask at local businesses and restaurants to donate something so we can raffle them off as floor prizes, which was an extra incentive to anyone who is interested in coming to the show. Here is a link to a great set of pictures from the show. Videos are available here & here and will be uploaded to YouTube soon. Board video may be viewed here. Overall, DVN was fantastic! We had a great turnout and were super successful in raising money for VietHope.

- John and Anh
Co-Chairs, Vietnamese Student Association
University of Michigan

Purdue University had its winter formal entitled “Moonlight Rendezvous” on Friday, December 4, 2009 at the South Ballroom in the Union. We had over 100 attendees, well over the expected amount. The doors opened at 7:30pm, and people danced the night away until 11:00pm. For the first hour there were white chocolate, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate fountains along with an assortment of fresh fruit available to dip into the fountains. Alongside the chocolate fountains and fruit were a mixture of various cakes and pies. Music was provided by DJ Ascension, a member of VSA, who spun music ranging from hip hop to house to slow jams. During the formal was a performance by the famous yo-yoer Noel Kunz from Ball State University. He performed twice; one was an old crowd-pleaser to Ne-Yo’s “Closer” and the other one was a spontaneous one with new moves to the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow.” Also, throughout the night, we had raffle drawings for people to an assortment of prizes, such as gift cards to various local restaurants, in which we collected weeks in advance. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the night was a huge success! An after party followed the formal, but was not hosted by VSA.

VSA put in an order for 80 people for the desserts in anticipation of having more than 80 attendees so that we would be able to profit and also so that we would not have that much leftover food. At the beginning, there seemed to be a shortage of chairs, but after the music got going and people started to get up and dance, it was not a problem anymore. The ballroom was booked 8 months in advance and planning for the formal started 3-4 months in advance. Formal invitation letters were sent out to organizations at Purdue and also to VSAs around the Midwest. Sponsorship letters were created, and VSA officers visited local restaurants to obtain anything that we would be able to raffle off a month before the formal. Tickets went on sale about a month before the actual event and were advertised as pre-sale only. Tickets were sold at $12 for singles and $20 for couples. The last day of pre-sale tickets was three days before the formal, but because of the high demand for people wanting tickets at the last minute, we decided to sell tickets at the door. The formal was a huge success, and we were able to profit from this, and more importantly, we have reinforced our name and our reputation as one of the most active and successful Asian organization on campus.

Photographs courtesy of Paolo Constantino Photography, Purdue VSA Historian
Contact information: Jacklin Nguyen, Purdue VSA President

Thanks to all the attendees of the 2009 UVSA Midwest Summer Extravaganza! We hope you had a great time and look forward to seeing you soon! Keep in touch!

UVSA Midwest Facebook Group

Collective Philathropy Project: VietHope Goals